Awesome headphones
July 26, 2021
I was truly impressed with Sony's new flagship WH-100XM4 headphones. They have many cool features and sound amazing. To get the most out of your headphones, you have to download the Sony Headphones Connect app either from the Google Play Store or the Apple store depending on whether you're using an Android phone or an iPhone. You then have to turn on the headphones in order to pair them to your phone via Bluetooth. For me pairing was easy and I had to download the latest firmware update. Next, the app walks you through set up. One really cool feature that I liked is 360 Reality Audio. This is an immersive mode that is compatible with a few of the more premium music apps such as Deezer and Tidal, and allows you to hear the music as its meant to be heard without any artifacts. The app gives you a comparison of sound bites from both the normal audio and 360 Reality audio and the difference is like night and day. With 360 Reality Audio, it feels like you're in a concert hall listening to a performance. Also, the app takes a picture of your ears in order to customize the headphones to your ear shape. However, even without 360 Reality Audio, the sound quality of the headphones is really good with strong bass and easily discernible highs and lows.
Another cool feature is the ambient sound toggle. When you cup your hand over the right earpiece, the music stops and you can hear ambient sound. Take your hand away, and the music resumes playing. There are just two buttons on the left earpiece, the power button and the custom button. To turn your headphones on and off, you have to hold the power button for several seconds. The custom button can be used to toggle ambient sound and noise cancelling, and invoke Google Assistant and Alexa. You have to use the custom modes one at a time, though, and they are available in the Headphones Connect app.
The build quality of the headphones is top notch. The material feels premium through and through. They are very lightweight and are comfortable to wear for a long time thanks to the extremely soft and plush headband and earcups. The headphones also come in a hard zippered carrying case with an exterior mesh pocket, which is a great plus as you can put the headphones in the case and then toss the case in your backpack without worrying about damaging them. The accessories that come in the box are a USB-C charging cable, a 3.5 mm splitter and an airplane adapter.
Overall, the Sony WH-1000XM4 are fantastic headphones. If you care about sound quality and premium materials, then they are definitely for you.... Read More
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